The Last Glowing Ember in the Dark
by district12victor
Summary: A president once said "Hope, the only thing stronger than fear." Little did he know, that would fuel Ember's fire into trying to change her district. Follow her as she attempts to stop the suffering of her district when it may only end with her fate.
1. Spark

Chapter 1-Spark

"Just close your eyes. The sun is going down. You'll be alright. No one can hurt you now. Come morning light, you and I'll be safe and sound…" I croon to my five-year-old sister. Her muffled sobs are replaced by whimpers. Ive been cuddling her on the ground in my arms and her tears dampen my tattered shirt.

"Blaze, I promise you it was NOT real. It a dream." I whisper for her ears only.

"It was you and you got reaped and and and and…" Blaze starts sobbing again.

"shhhh…. It's okay. Why don't you come into bed with me? How does that sound?" I ask calmly.

"Okay…" she whispers.

I carry Blaze over to my old, beaten down bed and place her down carefully, her fragile head restig on the flat pillow. Carefully, I crawl in next to her and pull the blanket over us. She cocoons herself into me and I wrap my arms around her. Blaze and my warmth together keeps are teeth from chattering under the thin blanket. Her head turns up toward mine and innocent, blue eyes stare intently into my mine.

"Hey Ember," she murmurs softly.

"Yeah?" I ask gently.

"I wish Spark was here," She woefully says, barely audible.

"Oh honey, I know. I do too, every minute of every day, but you know what?" I say as the memory surfaces. Spark was our older sister. Ever since our parents were killed in a mining accident five year ago, she was our guardian. She protected us from everything and always made sure we had enough to eat and were happy. She worked hour after hour to make sure we had enough money. Our parent s were killed in a mining accident just three weeks after little Blaze was born, when I was 11 and 18. It was a cold winter day and the sun was peeking through the clouds. We were already poor and going to bed hungry when both of our parents worked and we still live in the Seam in District 12. Seven months later, Spark was reaped for the Hunger Games at the age of 18. She was really good at throwing knives, was very beautiful with many sponsers, and the smartest in her grade, but that doesn't guarantee anything. She made it to the final six. It was late afternoon and the sun was blaring down on her. The arena was a desert, it was hot and dry, but everyday she managed to receive a two liter bottle of water from her sponsors. She was just finishing the crackers from her backpack she had snatched from the cornucopia. She was very smart and slept in fox holes and covered them with tumbleweeds. After she had emerged from the fox hole, the District 7 tribute snuck up behind her with his axe and swung at her. I covered my eys and luckily Blaze was asleep. Just seconds later the cannon sounded for Spark and I burst into tears.

"What?" she replys sweetly, pulling me from my thoughts.

"She would be very proud of you." I reply confidently.

"You think so?" she asks with her eyes full of surprise.

"Absolutely!" I reply with a smile.

"I hope so," she says as she snuggles deeper into the blanket. Moments later she is fast asleep, her chest slowly rising and falling. Happy that she is finally asleep I snuggle in with her and try to fall asleep.


	2. Realizations

Chapter 2-Realizations

Shining through the groggy windows, the Sun penetrates my deep sleep. Blaze is still sleeping blissfully beside me under the faded covers. I carefully get up to go to the kitchen and make breakfast. In our tiny home, there are four rooms, each one smaller than the next. The kitchen is the largest, but we can only manage to fit a table, three chairs, a stove, sink, and tiny refrigerated. The next largest room is the living room, which has a small wooden desk, a tiny ripped up couch, and a television that is small and battered for the Capitol mandatory viewings like the horrid Hunger Games. The second to last smallest room is the bedroom, which consists of two straw filled, old mattresses, both with blankets and pillows and a drawer with our clothes in it. Lastly, there's the bathroom with a sink, toilet, bath tub, and no warm running water.

In the kitchen cupboard, I find some stale bread and a tiny bit of leftover jam from the Hob. I place the bread over the stove to warm it up and then spread the strawberry jam over it. Blaze will love this, since she only gets it on special occasions. Special occasions….. shoot! Today's the reaping! I can't believe I was that stupid to forget! My name was only in the bowl 15 times, from taking out tesserae, so I guess I am kind of safe. What am I saying? Nobody's safe. Lost in thought, I drop the pan I was holding with a loud bang.

"Ember, was that you?" Blaze called from the room as she skipped into the kitchen.

"Yup!" I reply as I scoop her up and shower her in kisses. She shrieks and giggles as I tickle her tummy.

"EEEeeeee! Stoopppp! She shrieks in delight.

"Oh alright!" I pretend to be disappointed, "Guess what we have for breakfast!"

"What?" her eyes light up at the thought of a special breakfast.

"How does toast with strawberry jam sound? Then, later, we can pick some of the crops in our garden and trade some at the Hob, and maybe get something special for dinner?"

Blaze gasps and a smile spreads for miles across her face. "Really? Today will be amazing!" she shrieks as she dances around the kitchen in her socks. But Blaze is very smart, (something she inherited from Spark) and doesn't miss anything. She is well aware of how tight money is for us and how I have lots of random jobs all the time to support the two of us. Little things, like repairing roofs or planting gardens in people's backyards.

"Not that I don't want to do all of this super fun stuff, why is everything so special today?" she asks matter-of-factly.

"Welll… sweetie, today's the reaping." I manage to muster. The smile fades from her face and her eyes are full of worry.

"You're not going to get picked like Spark, are you?" she asked, very quietly, and voice had a sense of fear to it.

"Oh honey, I hope not. Please don't worry about it. Everything is goingt o be okay. We are going to have a fun day today! It's only 7:25 a.m. right now and the reaping doesn't begin until 2 in the afternoon!" I reassure her.

"Okay. Can I have some breakfast now?" she asks, giving me a puppy dog look.

"Of course you can Blaze!" I pick her up and plop her in her chair and place her plate in front of her. She stares at it for a minute, like she's waiting for me to join her, but temptation takes over. Before long there's jam smeared across her cheeks as she savors every bite. Once we are finished we get dressed in comfortable clothes and I help Blaze tie her shoes.

After we are dressed, we go to our garden behind our tiny home. The strawberries are ripe and red and the cucumbers are green and delicious.

"Blaze! Grab the basket and put half of the strawberries in the plastic container and the other half in the basket! Ill do the same with the cucumbers!" I say as the breeze engulfs us early in the morning.

Before we know it, I am standing in front of the 16 year olds section with many of other girls, such as Meadow Gallis, Scarlette Clane, and Ever Melrose, some of my closest friends. Blaze is with Meadow's mother, who is holding her hand kindly. The escort comes out and babbles on and I don't realize anything she says until I hear one of my biggest fears take place before me. Meadow is squeezing the life out of my hand and I know why she is so nervous. She is 7 months pregnant with her baby. Her big, swollen belly can prove it. (Meadow is 18 years old.) The name she reads out is:

Meadow Gallis.

It was this moment when I realized how much I wanted this to change. How I never wanted another reaping to take place ever again. How I wanted Meadow to still be standing next to me. How I wanted Meadow to be able to start her family here in District 12. How I wanted her to not have to go the Capitol to be prettied up for her possible slaughter.

That day I realized how I was going out of my way to change it.


	3. Ross Anders

Chapter 3-Ross Anders

Tears fill my eyes and I fight the urge to cry. Meadow stands on stage trembling and tears are freely pouring from her eyes. Clearly she is not making any attempt to hide her distress. As people start to realiza what has just happened, the commotion grows louder. Disregarding the Peacekeepers, people voice their thoughts freely and they swarm my ears. Their bravery is overwhelming.

"They can't do that, can they?"

"Unbelievable! Who would've thoutht they would allow this!"

"This is just to spice up their games this year!"

The frustration within the crowd is unbelievable. Meadow was beloved by many for her neverending kindness and no one wanted to see her go, especially with her baby on the way.

"Are there any volunteers?" Effie calls out to the shocked crowd.

I would have volunteered, if it was not for Blaze. Blaze would never forgive me if I had volunteered and left her behind. Especially after Spark's games…

Sadly, no one volunteered. Many girls looked like they wanted to, but no one had the courage. I know a lot of them would have if they were not the heads of their families. Instead, many people who knew her lifted the three middle fingers of their left hands to their lips and then up. A symbol of good-bye to someone you love.

"Now for the boys!" Effie's shrill voice interrupts the touching moment with the loud clacking of her high heels as she struts over to the boys' reaping ball.

"Ross Anders," she calls to the population of our district.

"NO!" I cry without meaning to. Many people shoot me quizzical looks, before they get a good look at our male tribute.

Ross Anders is Meadow's boyfriend. The father of their baby. Thefuture husband Meadow Gallis. Rumors had been going around town that Ross had bought a ring for Meadow and was going to propose tonight! Tonight! Meadow collapses and starts sobbing uncontrollably and the commotion around us is crazy. More people are showcasing their bravery by shouting out their thoughts fro all to hear, but nothing they say will change anything accept for the words "I volunteer". Predictably, no one does.

Once again, the crowd salutes him, but a traditional salute is not going to change anything. Meadow and Ross will still have to enter the arena. There is only a small chance one of them can come home, but only ONE of them can live. Their family has been torn to unbelievable measures and nothing anyone does now can stop it.

After Effie asks for volunteers and no one steps forward, that signals the end of the reaping. The crowds start to disperse back to their homes to celebrate that their children have been granted another year inDistrict 12. Blaze is waiting in the spot exactly where told her I would collect her from after the reaping and I run to her. I scoop her up onto my hip and whisper soothing things to her. We were very close to Meadow and Ross. We were like family, practically the only family, they had. Blaze's tears stain my tunic as I cradle in her my arms as I walked to the Justice Building.

We were the only people to come say our goodbyes to the couple, except for a few friends who had come and gone, but there was a large pile of gifts for them on a table outside of their room. The Peacekeepers unlocked the doors and let us in.

"Meadow!" Blaze shrieked as she ran toward her.

"Blaze, I love you so much, you know that?" she whispers to her as she cuddles her.

"I love you too Meadow!" Blaze says as tears spill down her cheeks again.

"Please, no matter what you see on the screen, no that I love you and that's all that matters." Meadow replies, struggling to stay strong for my little sister.

"If you come home, can I help you name your baby?" Blaze asks curiously. Ross and Meadow exchange a glance before Ross decides to speak.

"Of course you can!" he says with a weak smile.

"Yay! I won't let you down with my ideas!" she says happily as she starts thinking of some names for the baby.

"Becareful what you ask for!" I say with a sad laugh. After that, no one really says anything and we just stay in each others ebrace for nearly half an hour.

When the Peacekeepers arrive to take us away, Blaze and I are crying like there's no tomorrow. Eventually the Peacekeepers win and we are roughly escorted and jostled out o fht eJustice Building.

We watch as the train speeds away with our only family in horror as we prepare for the days to come.


End file.
